5:08 Catherine Bernard, Aspen Valley Hospital’s chief of medical staff, remembers how that week played out in the emergency department. “We were frightened,” she said. “Despite our training and our systems, the frontline workers were scared.” With precautions and adaptations, they were able to overcome that initial fear. Time and experience made the situation a bit more manageable. “It was a jump into the very cold deep end,” Bernard said. “It felt like in March, we saw very sick patients. I specifically saw very sick patients – some of them much older than me, and some of them even colleagues. That really brings it home and makes it very frightening.”